Tonight (1/23): Narrows League hoops
Boys basketball
Olympia vs. Shelton – Olympia HS – 7:00 PM
Girls basketball
North Thurston vs. Lincoln – North Thurston HS – 7:00 PM
Timberline vs. Foss – Timberline HS – 7:00 PM
Tuesday scoreboard: Wallace’s big night lifts Hawks into second place; Cougars keep pace
Boys basketball
River Ridge 62, Centralia 61
Tumwater 73, Aberdeen 64
Capital 68, Black Hills 62
Pope John Paul II 48, Washington School for the Deaf 32
Willapa Valley 54, Northwest Christian 32
Centralia went on a 12-4 run over the last five minutes of the game but were unable to convert with less than 15 seconds left and fell to River Ridge, 62-61. The win coupled with Capital’s 68-62 win over Black Hills moves the Hawks and Cougars into a tie for second place at 6-3 in 2A EvCo play while Centralia dropped to third place at 5-3. Brad Wallace scored 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Hawks.
Top scorers: Brad Wallace (River Ridge)...24 Xin Gao (PJP2)...............17 David Cooper (Tumwater)......15 Justin Rudd (Capital)........14 Keenan Williams (Capital)....13 Josh Newell (Black Hills)....13
Girls basketball
River Ridge 57, Centralia 38
Black Hills 55, Capital 39
Aberdeen 57, Tumwater 46
Sounders, Timbers rivalry returns to Tumwater
Sounders U-23 players salute the fans at Tumwater Stadium that watched them knock off the Timbers U-23s in 2012.
The junior version of North American soccer’s biggest rivalry will return to the Olympia area in the 2013 season.
Last week, the Premier Development League and the Sounders U-23s released the 2013 schedule that includes a June 9th date between the Sounders U-23s and the Portland Timbers U-23s at Tumwater Stadium.
Last season, a mostly Sounders partisan crowd of 1,300 packed Tumwater Stadium and saw the Sounders U-23s’ Jamael Cox score an added time goal to knock off the Timbers U-23s 1-0. It was the first game between the two sides since the Tacoma Tides were sold and entered into an agreement with Seattle Sounders FC and rebranded as the Sounders U-23s. The 1,300 fans turned out to be the largest home crowd that the Sounders U-23s played in front of in 2012 and the game was named the 2012 Oly Sports moment of the year.
The Timbers U-23s game in Tumwater is the premier event on the Sounders U-23s schedule this season. The ex-Tides have left Tacoma altogether and moved the majority of their home games to Sumner’s Sunset Stadium. They will also play two home games against the Washington Crossfire at the Starfire complex in Renton.
Besides the Tumwater game in 2012, they played two games at Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium that for various reasons failed to draw the crowds that were expected. They played the remainder of their season in front of smallish crowds at Franklin Pierce High School.
Three Sounders U-23 players that played in the Tumwater game last season either signed or were drafted by Major League Soccer clubs. DeAndre Yedlin, a defender from the University of Akron and a Sounders Academy product, signed with Seattle Sounders FC as their first Homegrown Player while UCLA’s Fernando Monge was drafted #18 overall by the Montreal Impact in the MLS SuperDraft last week and Anthony Arena was drafted by the Houston Dynamo in the supplemental draft today.
First kick on June 9th is scheduled for 2:00 PM.
Tonight (1/22): Wolves, Cougars doubleheader; Eagles, Navs, T-Birds and Hawks in action
Boys basketball
Pope John Paul II vs. Wa. School for the Deaf – St. Michael’s Gym – 7:00 PM
Northwest Christian vs. Willapa Valley – Northwest Christian – 7:00 PM
Tumwater vs. Aberdeen – Tumwater HS – 7:30 PM – Listen
Black Hills @ Capital – Capital HS – 7:30 PM
Out of town: River Ridge @ Centralia – 7:30 PM – Listen
Girls basketball
Black Hills @ Capital – Capital HS – 5:45 PM
River Ridge vs. Centralia – River Ridge HS – 7:30 PM
VIDEO: Roger O’Neill scores his 1,000th career point
With 5:50 left to play in the second half Saturday night, Saint Martin’s senior Roger O’Neill pulled down an offensive rebound, quickly drained a shot up off the glass and drew the foul. He proceeded to sink the free throw to give him 14 points in the game and his 1,000th career point as a Saint.
You can watch the video and hear my call of his 998th, 999th and 1000th points above.
Today (1/20): Rise host Mountaineers
American Basketball Association
Olympia Rise vs. Seattle Mountaineers – CRC Gymnasium – 4:00 PM
Saturday scoreboard: SPSCC sweeps Grays Harbor; Saints women top Wolves; Shock roll Pioneers; Navs girls win
Men’s basketball
SPSCC 65, Grays Harbor 63 – Box score
Western Washington 104, Saint Martin’s 56 – Recap from SMUSaints.com
Corban 76, Evergreen 73 – Recap from Evergreen athletics
Women’s basketball
SPSCC 56, Grays Harbor 53 – Box score
Saint Martin’s 54, Western Oregon 47 – Recap from SMUSaints.com
Corban 73, Evergreen 63 – Recap from Evergreen athletics
Premier Arena Soccer League
South Sound Shock 20, Tumwater Pioneers 5
Girls basketball
Northwest Christian 40, Naselle 22
Boys basketball
Naselle 45, Northwest Christian 24
Today (1/19): Saints and Vikings highlight busy day of basketball, soccer and roller derby
Extremely busy day of sports in the Olympia area that features a little something for everybody. College basketball, high school basketball, arena soccer, roller derby…how can you go wrong?
It all starts with a doubleheader at South Puget Sound where the SPSCC men’s and women’s teams host a doubleheader against Grays Harbor. The women’s game gets underway at 3:00 PM and the men will tip-off afterwards, somewhere around 5:00.
Across town at Marcus Pavilion, Saint Martin’s is hosting a high school boys basketball game between Longview’s Mark Morris and Lynden. Mark Morris last played at Saint Martin’s last season when they fell to River Ridge in the district championship game. They currently sit at 3-1 in the 2A GSHL. Meanwhile, Lynden is 13-1 overall and undefeated in the 2A Northwest League. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 PM.
At 5:45, Northwest Christian hosts a high school doubleheader against Naselle. The girls kick things off and will be followed by the boys game.
Over in the Tumwater Sports District (my term), the MIA Derby Girls start their second season with a bout against the JBLM Bettie Brigade at the Sound Puget Sound Sports Center. The bout will feature a live DJ, halftime performance by MAXX WATT, Barb’s BBQ for concessions and a beer garden for fans 21-and-over with ID. Tickets are just $15 at the door. Doors open at 5:00 PM with derby action getting underway at 6:00 PM.
Just down the street at Tumwater Indoor Sports, the Tumwater Pioneers face the South Shound Shock in arena soccer action. The two teams share the facility and this week the Shock will serve as the home team. Last week the two teams met and the first place Shock dominated the action knocking off the Pioneers 11-2. The Shock sit at 4-0-1 atop the PASL Northwest Division while the expansion Pioneers are suffering some growing pains sitting at 0-4. Doors open at 6:00 PM with first kick scheduled for 7:00. Tickets are just $5 for adults.
And finally, the main event. The defending NCAA Division II men’s basketball national champion Western Washington Vikings come to Marcus Pavilion to take on Saint Martin’s. The Vikings are 15-0 and ranked #3 in the nation following a 91-81 win over Western Oregon in Monmouth on Thursday night. The Vikings are led by John Allen and Paul Jones, who scored 38 and 27 points respectively against the Wolves and average 18.3 and 15.9 points per game.
It also marks the return of Black Hills graduate and SPSCC star Anye Turner to Olympia. Turner, a sophomore, is averaging 3.9 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game in his first season in Bellingham.
The last non-exhibition loss that Western suffered came at Marcus Pavilion where they fell to Montana State-Billings in the semifinals of the GNAC tournament.
The Saints are coming off of a dominating performance over GNAC bottom feeders Simon Fraser. The win pushed the Saints record to 6-8 overall and 2-4 in conference play. Eric Taylor and Rei Jensen each scored 18 points in the win while Roger O’Neill chipped in 17. Last season, the Saints gave the Vikings quite the test when they rallied behind a 20 point run but eventually fell, 70-67. You can read the Oly Sports game recap in tweets here.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 PM and the first 200 fans in the building will receive a Saints rally towel. If you can’t make it to the game, you can watch the game and listen to me, Brandon Sparks, call all the action by clicking here.
Friday scoreboard: Bears, Hawks, Blazers score conference wins; Geoducks women top Beacons
Boys basketball
Olympia 51, Gig Harbor 37
River Ridge 66, Capital 62
South Kitsap 73, North Thurston 45
WF West 69, Tumwater 58
Centralia 69, Black Hills 64
Lincoln 70, Timberline 60 (Photos above)
Top scorers (No Black Hills stats): Brad Wallace (River Ridge)......30 Steven Stone (North Thurston)...22 Justin Rudd (Capital)...........20 Donaven Dorsey (Timberline).....18 Jayden Croft (Tumwater).........15 David Cooper (Tumwater).........14 Michael Naipo (Olympia).........13
Girls basketball
River Ridge 51, Capital 25
Timberline 54, Lincoln 53
South Kitsap 51, North Thurston 44
Gig Harbor 42, Olympia 34
Top scorers (No Capital or River Ridge stats): Sarah McKee (Timberline)............29 Jenna Randich (Olympia).............14 Kajana Fernandus (North Thurston)...13 Brittany Sebesta (North Thurston)...11
Women’s basketball
Evergreen 63, Northwest Christian 56 – Recap from Evergreen athletics
Danielle Swain scored 15 points and Sammi Clark added a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards to lead Evergreen to a 63-56 win over Northwest Christian in Eugene. The Geoducks used runs of 11-0 and 9-1 to build a ten point lead after the first half. But the Beacons cut the lead to just three with just over a minute to play. The Geoducks hit their free throws down the stretch to ice the victory.
Men’s basketball
Northwest Christian 73, Evergreen 62 – Recap from Evergreen athletics
Oly Sports 